DALLAS (NCBWA) – A Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference hitter matched a NCAA Div. III record with four home runs in a single game, while an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference pitcher came a strikeout shy of matching the single-game Div. III record. Those performances, plus nine no-hit innings spanning two outings by a Great Northeast Athletic Conference rookie earned this week’s National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Div. III honors. This seventh selections in 2022 were chosen based on games April 4-10.

HITTER OF THE WEEK
Earlham College (Indiana) junior designated hitter Andrew Bradley logged the 19th four-home run game in NCAA Div. III history on April 6 against Defiance College (Ohio). Bradley hit a pair of two-run shots during Earlham’s 11-run first inning, then had a solo shot and a grand slam during a 10-run third. Bradley finished the 40-7 rout 4-for-5 with 10 RBI and five runs scored, and he was lifted for a pinch hitter in the sixth inning. On the week, the HCAC Hitting Athlete of the Week went 10-for-16 (.625) with six home runs and 15 RBI en route to helping Earlham to a 3-1 week in HCAC play. He slugged 1.875 and hit two doubles.

Honorable Mention Hitter: Jacob Matzat, Sr., INF, University of Rochester (New York) – Liberty League Performer of the Week after helping Yellowjackets to a 4-0 record. The senior designated hitter batted .650 (13-for-20) with 10 extra base hits, including four doubles, two triples, and four home runs. He added 16 RBI, 10 runs scored, and produced a slugging percentage of 1.650. Matzat went 5-for-6 and hit for the cycle in Rochester’s 18-10 win over Clarkson University (New York) on Saturday. Matzat matched a program record set in 1951 with nine RBI in the 18-10 win. He raised his season batting average from .308 to .457 during the week.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK
University of Northwestern, St. Paul (Minnesota) junior left-hander Owen Boerema set a single-game school record with 21 strikeouts during Saturday’s 5-0 nine-inning win over Crown College (Minnesota). The UMAC Pitcher of the Week’s strikeouts are one off the NCAA Div. III record and are the most in a NCAA baseball game – Div. I, II, or III – this spring. Boerema’s 21-strikeout game marked the first time a Div. III pitcher had at least 20 strikeouts in a game since Muhlenberg College’s (Pennsylvania) Matthew D’Ambrosia struck out 21 Lesley University (Massachusetts) hitters on March 6, 2020. Boerema allowed just two hits in his complete-game shutout.

Honorable Mention Pitcher: Josh Wintroub, Sr., Augustana College (Illinois) – College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Pitcher of the Week following a seven-inning no-hitter on Sunday. Wintroub struck out 14 batters en route to improving to 5-0 on the season. Augustana beat Cornell College (Iowa) 10-0.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Anna Maria College (Massachusetts) right-hander Nick Choate was unbelievable on Sunday in a 15-0 win over Rivier University (New Hampshire). Choate, who was making his first career start, pitched five flawless innings and struck out five as the AMCATS delivered a combined perfect game, a first in program history. For the week, the rookie went 2-0 with 14 strikeouts over nine shutout innings. He did not allow a hit on the week, thanks to four hitless innings of relief in Anna Maria’s 7-3 win over Albertus Mangus College (Connecticut) on Tuesday.

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2022 NCBWA Division III Players of the Week:
• February: Jack Thomson, Lewis & Clark (Hitter); Sayers Collins, East Texas Baptist (Pitcher); Andrew Gryniewicz, Lesley (Rookie)
• Week of March 6: Blake Bean, Kalamazoo (Hitter); Dominic Perachi, Salve Regina (Pitcher); Aiden Murphy, Wilkes (Rookie)
• Week of March 13: Joe Jimenez, Texas Lutheran (Hitter); Mike Schiattarella, Stockton (Pitcher); Anthony Runfola, Haverford (Rookie)
• Week of March 20: Mike Khoury, Brandeis (Hitter); Kieren Collins, Johns Hopkins (Pitcher); Joe Morrissey, Washington, Md. (Rookie)
• Week of March 27: Kamden Earley, Wabash (Hitter); Dalton Glenn, Buena Vista (Pitcher); Tyler Herrera, Centenary (Rookie)
• Week of April 3: Luke Broadhurst, Eastern Connecticut State (Hitter); Ismael Tatis, John Jay (Pitcher); Samuel Palmer, Westfield State (Rookie)
• Week of April 10: Andrew Bradley, Earlham (Hitter); Owen Boerema, Northwestern-St. Paul (Pitcher); Nick Choate, Anna Maria (Rookie)
• Week of April 17: Seth Betts, Crown (Hitter); Ben Smith, Worcester State (Pitcher); Jace Fetterman, Lebanon Valley (Rookie)
• Week of April 24: Sam Beers, Concordia (Hitter); Garrison Paillet, Thomas (Pitcher); Logan Nickel, Anderson (Rookie)
• Week of May 1: Tom Kretzler, SUNY-Brockport (Hitter); Alek Elges, Webster (Pitcher); Nick Choate, Anna Maria (Rookie)
• Week of May 8: Alex Baumann, Minnesota-Morris (Hitter); Sayers Collins, East Texas Baptist (Pitcher); Jacob Schaaf, Minnesota-Morris (Rookie)